Nothing wrong with county intervention
No one should over-react to a decision by Fayette County Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Angela M. Zimmerlink to intervene in the county Zoning Hearing Board’s denial of a special exception to allow 18 wind-powered turbines to be situated in Georges and Springhill townships. PPM Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp. has already filed an appeal of the ZHB ruling in Fayette County court, which is the right of any petitioner unhappy with a ruling. So if the ZHB somehow erred in rendering its decision – which is possible, though we would hope unlikely – the mechanism’s already underway for a court reversal of that ruling.
By interceding, the county commissioners are merely making a move to ensure that the ZHB did what it is charged to do under the law, instead of acting legislatively, according to county solicitor Joseph E. Ferens Jr. Given the murkiness of some county zoning ordinance rules and rulings over the years – including areas where the law has been subject to interpretation, and places where the ordinance conflicted with state law – there’s nothing wrong with the commissioners wanting to make sure everything is hunky-dory.
Zimmerlink says she just wants to make sure the zoning ordinance was properly enforced and that the ZHB didn’t overstep its authority. We see no problem with doing that. Zapotosky says he just wants to make sure the ZHB did what it was supposed to do. There’s no problem with that logic, either.
One doesn’t need to look too far into recent history to see how ZHB rulings appealed to court can be knock-down, drag-out affairs. The long-running Dunbar Township zoning dispute between the Cellurales and the Krisses, rife with charges and counter-charges, is a prime example of what can happen when intense zoning issues arise.
Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites, who voted against intervention in the wind turbines case, believes it sets a bad precedent. No doubt that’s because Vicites fears everyone who loses at the Zoning Hearing Board level will request commissioner intervention, which clearly won’t be possible all the time. His logic has merit as well: In addition to being accused of playing favorites if they don’t intervene, the commissioners may also find themselves making political enemies from those upset at their inaction. They could also be viewed as usurping the authority of what’s supposed to be an autonomous, quasi-judicial board.
But if the law permits the commissioners to intervene if they see fit, which is clearly the case, there’s no reason for them to stay on the sidelines just because that’s the way it’s always been. If the ZHB overstepped its boundaries in the wind turbines decision, better to find that out now than later, when a protracted court case could end up costing the county lots of money in the long run.